The aim of this study was to characterise modern and historic barley varieties for agronomic and growth characteristics and to assess their resistance to Fusarium and mildew diseases. Barley is a major agricultural crop cultivated throughout the world providing an important source of energy and protein for humans and animals. To achieve its potential, however, it must be carefully managed to avoid diseases particularly those caused by fungi which can cause serious economic losses and affect food safety and quality. Contemporary barley varieties have been selected for yield and disease resistance. However, long term resistance to disease is increasingly difficult to achieve as microorganisms mutate and maintain their virulence. Investigating the potential of historic barley varieties as a genetic resource for future developments is one approach to obtaining novel attributes which may have been overlooked when breeding focused on yield rather than character of barley and on disease resistance. To examine the characteristics and disease resistance of historic barley varieties a series of investigations was conducted. Initially a screening was initiated by growing thirteen historic barley varieties and two modern barley varieties in a field trial in 2009. Growth features, yield and symptoms of mildew and Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) were scored and compared. This field experiment was repeated in 2010 with six of these varieties at the John Innes Centre by deliberately exposing the plants to F. culmorum Fu 42. A further experiment was conducted at the same time by growing seven varieties in glasshouse conditions at the University of Sunderland under inoculated and uninoculated conditions. From both growing seasons clear differences were found for the level of F. culmorum infection between the different barley cultivars with infection levels in heads ranging from 16% for Chevalier and 86.4% for Tipple barley varieties respectively. Nitrogen increased the level of FHB in all varieties possibly because ii of increased plant leaf number, tillers and humidity within the environment around the plant. Mycotoxin analysis showed that F. culmorum infection resulted in mycotoxin contamination of all varieties. However, levels of mycotoxin were significantly lower in Chevalier barley compared to other barley varieties including the two modern varieties, Tipple and Westminster. Observations using scanning electron microscopy indicated a different pattern of fungal growth in Chevalier barley with limited fungal development on both external and internal surfaces compared to other susceptible varieties. In general resistance against FHB disease depends on variable responses including plant physiology and morphology, antifungal compounds or resistance genes. Different flowering dates or flowering periods could be also considered reasons for different infection levels. However, in this study the duration of anthesis was not assessed and could be an important factor. Further experiments to identify the flowering times of different varieties could be considered for further research. The lower levels of disease associated with lower levels of mycotoxins and a reduced fungal development in Chevalier barley indicated that this variety has a strong resistance against FHB disease. This may be because of its late flowering and its tall height minimising colonisation from the soil. However, Chevalier barley was found to be very susceptible to powdery mildew disease, particularly in glasshouse studies. The potential of Chevalier barley to produce good malt was indicated when compared to modern varieties suggesting that Chevalier may be a valuable breeding stock for future developments.

This action research study investigated the feasibility of building evaluation capacity into the design process of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service’s (GMFRS) community initiatives. GMFRS runs over 400 community initiatives every year and an appropriate evaluation framework is needed to provide evidence of their impact and effectiveness. Information that previous evaluation processes had failed to provide. The feasibility of establishing an evaluation framework for use by non-specialists users was explored, the development of a new evaluation system for GMFRS was examined critically, and the processes and challenges involved in embedding evaluation within a large public sector emergency service investigated. Mixed research methods -- document analyses, qualitative interviews, observations and focus groups -- were used in the three action research cycles conducted between April 2008 and April 2010. In cycle one, existing evaluation materials and key characteristics of the initiatives were assessed. GMFRS’s community initiatives were found to lack direction, and the existing evaluation tool lacked the detail required for use by personnel with no previous evaluation experience. Hence, new evaluation materials were developed and, in the second cycle, their use was observed, and interviews conducted to ascertain the barriers to evaluation practices. Lack of resources, organisational guidance, and support with evaluation activities were identified as barriers. In the third cycle focus groups were used to gain feedback on the usability of the new evaluation material and processes. The principal conclusions of the research are that there were no theoretical models and/or guidance to assist Emergency Services to develop internal evaluation capacity. Insufficient attention has been paid to organisational support processes to nurture individuals’ evaluation skills and abilities, and to assist complex organisations utilise evaluations. For evaluation to become an embedded and systematic activity, it has to be supported by a project management methodology that underpins evaluation processes.

There is an investment of hand-pump technology to improve provision of safe drinking-water for the stakeholder end-users in rural sub-Saharan regions of Africa, yet there are challenges to maintain the assets. In rural drinking-water projects, end-users also assume the responsibility of hand-pump maintenance after projects are handed over to them by project sponsors. This study uses a realist philosophy to analyse the issues that hinder or facilitate effective end-user participation in a successful maintenance of drinking-water projects in Nkhoma and Bvumbwe, Lilongwe and Thyolo Districts of Malawi respectively. Data collection was done by employing secondary data (literature review) and primary data collection using documents, observation, and interviews to establish factors facilitating or inhibiting hand-pump maintenance. Interviews which were the main data collection instrument, recruited 12 Convergence Interviews (CI), followed by 39 Individual Case Interviews (ICIs) and two sets of Focus Groups (FGs) in operational and non-functional hand-pumps. CI processes developed categories related to hand-pump maintenance factors and associated challenges. The CI developed maintenance categories were further cross checked in ICIs that used semi-structured interviews and finally confirmed in FGs, documentary and observational analysis. Convergence Interviews data was analysed using a matrix while ICIs were analysed using likert-type ranking scales to identify the most occurring hand-pump maintenance factors. Focus Groups, observations and documents used content analysis to analyse the hand-pump maintenance factors. Results show that end-users maintain small- medium hand-pumps faults effectively if they pay a contribution towards maintenance costs and if local political structures are trained to repair the hand-pumps. Moreover, the study identifies lack of sponsor supports as the main factor leading to failure in the management of major faults and hand-pump rehabilitation, as this is beyond local capacity technically as well as economically. Hence, the study introduces a business approach to improving hand-pump maintenance by recommending some minimum standards on the demand-side (end-user level) as well as the supply-side (project sponsor and policy levels).

A functionally connected urban tree infrastructure (UTI) contributes to ecosystem function, resilience, and the provision of Ecosystem Services (ES). Variation in tree height is an important attribute influencing movement of passerines, habitat quality and landscape patterns. UTI provided ES are particularly beneficial in the most deprived areas of a city. Presented in this thesis is an exploration into the social-ecological shape of a UTI using a holistic, multi-scale and dimensional, landscape approach. The potential landscape connectivity of a UTI in the City of Salford, UK was quantified and compared using the integral index of connectivity (IIC) across vertically stratified canopies existing in 2005, 2009, and 2013. System resilience was assessed through landscape graph network analysis and by the identification of canopies critical in maintaining connectivity (dIIC). The index of multiple deprivation (IMD) was related to UTI landscape composition and configuration through a series of statistical tests. The connectivity of Salford’s vertically stratified UTI was low (IIC = <0.000001 – 0.0045), besides this the temporal change in connectivity was complex with no discernible overall pattern. The rate of connectivity increase decreased after a 90-120m gap-crossing threshold. The resilience of Salford’s UTI relies on the connectivity of canopies within 4 to 5 sub-connected regions, depending on passerine perception, increasing to 10 -16 smaller regions for canopies above 17.1m. The resilience and stability of these sub-connected regions were often reliant on a central canopy patch. UTI composition is related negatively with deprivation, UTI configuration is related positively, while structural diversity of canopy heights revealed no correlation with deprivation. The research in this thesis contributes to the debates on how to best manage the UTI for both people and nature. The findings of this thesis have a number of important implications for future urban landscape management, especially as previously unknown landscape patterns have been identified.

Social-ecological systems describe interactions between humans and nature. The ecosystem approach provides a holistic system to manage and understand these interactions, and to maintain and enhance ecosystem services - the benefits nature provides to humans. While much theoretical discourse posits various approaches to the ecosystem approach and ecosystem services, there exists a lack of practical applications examining these approaches, especially in urban and peri-urban environments. The current research used a case study to examine the efficacy of integrating environmental management and ecosystem services within an urban greenspace social-ecological system. Initially, the most pertinent ecosystem services and management options were established. This was achieved through expert opinion, a rapid assessment, and a literature search which enabled the identification of a preferred management approach. This resulted in conservation grazing cattle over a 5 hectare salt marsh, typical of the Upper Mersey Estuary in the UK and situated within an urban area. The effects of cattle grazing on four relevant ecosystem services: (i) wild species diversity, (ii) environmental settings, (iii) carbon storage, and (iv) immobilisation of pollutants, were evaluated over two years. The aim of the evaluation was to examine how the grazing intervention affected ecosystem services. Both quantitative and qualitative measures - reflecting the interdisciplinarity of the ecosystem services concept - were used in the evaluation. For the ecosystem services examined, the results add significant knowledge to the current discourse, and are used to inform new avenues for research. There was an increase in the cultural services (wild species diversity and environmental settings), regulatory services of carbon storage showed no change while differences in the immobilisation of pollutants observed were explained by local variation at the site. These findings show that by integrating ecosystem services and environmental management, larger scale benefits to humans from management options can be recognised and planned for in future natural spaces management, thereby increasing the positive rewards nature provides in abundance.

In construction many problems exist that lead to poor quality of the built environment, for example, lack of integration between service and facility design and poor requirements management. Aiming to mitigate these problems, academics and practitioners have engaged in debating ways of improving the process of designing new facilities. One of the approaches that has been investigated is the use of scientific evidence to support decision makers within the design process. This process is called evidence-based design (EBD). In this respect, a range of studies developed in healthcare sectors encourages the application of EBD in order to add value to the design of these environments and to produce better building outcomes for patients and staff. In this respect, this study was designed to address this issue and is aimed at better understanding how evidence supports design. The achievement of the aim was based on (a) revisiting the philosophical debate about the definitions of evidence and knowledge formation to propose a conceptual framework that can be used to classify evidence within the design domain; (b) investigating the proposed use of evidence within prescriptive design methods of design; (c) understanding how evidence has been used in design practice (specifically in the design of healthcare facilities) and to propose a taxonomy for different categories of evidence that support building design and their advantages and disadvantages; and (d) exploring the existence of opportunities to improve design practice with a basis on a better understanding of evidence. The focus of the research was the design process of healthcare facilities and the unit of analysis was the role of evidence within design. The findings of this research enhance our understanding of design as a knowledge formation system. In this respect, the use of this approach opens opportunities for future studies related to the interpretation and the development of tools that assist design. This research also provides insights related to analysis and synthesis as the proto-theory of design as well as distributed intelligence in design.

Urban areas are hubs of creativity and innovation providing fertile ground for novel responses to modern environmental challenges. One such response is the community-led management of urban green spaces as a form of organised social-ecological innovation (OSEI). Previous studies have attempted to conceptualise the ecological, social and political potential of such informal approaches to urban green space management. However, little work has been carried out into their efficacy in the landscape, either by describing the social-ecological conditions influencing their occurrence or by quantifying the actual benefits in terms of ecosystem service provision. This research explores the emergence and impact of OSEI in a continuous urban landscape comprising the metropolitan areas of Manchester, Salford and Trafford (UK). The social-ecological context and content of OSEI were investigated using a cross-scale approach. At the landscape scale a snowball-sampling method mapped the occurrence of OSEIs using GIS and remote sensing technology. At the micro-scale, a case study quantified relative levels of provision across four key ecosystem services. The analysis presented OSEI as an adaptive response to environmental stressors, clustered around “hubs” of social-ecological innovation in the urban landscape. The distribution of OSEIs was influenced by historical context, degree of urbanisation and dependent on levels of, and dynamics between, social and ecological deprivation. Urban agriculture was instrumental as a catalyst for the emergence of OSEI and the associated production of a range of ecosystem services. Site productivity was also influenced by spatial and design considerations. This thesis has detailed the character of OSEI as a coherent phenomenon in the urban landscape which exhibits valuable response diversity according to social-ecological conditions. This, together with an evaluation of factors influencing ecosystem service provision at the local scale, has informed the validity of OSEI as an element of adaptive capacity which contributes to resilience in urban social-ecological systems.

The benefits that humans receive from nature are not fully understood. The ecosystem service framework has been developed to improve understanding of the benefits, or ecosystem services, that humans receive from the natural environment. Although the ecosystem service framework is designed to provide insights into the state of ecosystem services, it has been criticised for its neglect of spatial analysis. This thesis contains a critical discussion on the spatial relationships between ecosystem services and the urban landscape in Salford, Greater Manchester. An innovative approach has been devised for creating a landscape mosaic, which uses remotely-sensed spectral indices and land cover measurements. Five ecosystem services are considered: carbon storage, water flow mitigation, climate stress mitigation, aesthetics, and recreation. Analysis of ecosystem service generation uses the landscape mosaic, hotspot identification and measurements of spatial association. Ecosystem service consumption is evaluated via original perspectives of physical accessibility through a transport network, and greenspace visibility over a 3D surface. Results suggest that the landscape mosaic accuracy compares favourably to a map created using traditional classification methods. Ecosystem service patterns are unevenly distributed across Salford. The regulating services draw from similar natural resource locations, while cultural services have more diverse sources. The accessibility and visibility analysis provides evidence for the importance of urban trees as mitigators of ‘grey’ views, and urban parks as accessible producers of multiple services. Comprehensive ecosystem service analysis requires integration of quantitative and qualitative approaches. Evaluation of spatial relationships between ecosystem services and the physical landscapes in this thesis provides a practical method for improved measurement and management of the natural environment in urban areas. These findings can be used by urban planners and decision makers to integrate ecological considerations into proposed development schemes.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Jyväskylä--[Jyväskylä, Finland], 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-91).

The concepts of ‘place’ and ‘identity’ are increasingly being used to understand the relations between people and physical environments. This research utilised ‘place’ and ‘identity’ to examine how people negotiate environmental conditions such as vibration and noise within their talk around ‘place’ and ‘identity’. For the study context, living alongside railways was chosen as an ‘ordinary’ and ‘everyday’ physical feature within residential settings and also due to potential upcoming changes to the UK rail network such as new lines and increases in rail freight traffic. Ten qualitative interviews were generated with twelve residents living alongside the West Coast Main Line (WCML) railway in the North of England. Participants were recruited from the Defra-funded study ‘NANR209: Human Response to Vibration in Residential Environments’ (Defra, 2011). Using a discursive psychological approach, railways were portrayed as an insignificant aspect of ‘place’ in relation to the wider contexts of finding somewhere to live. Through the ‘lived ideologies’ of ‘the rural idyll’ and ‘a peaceful and quiet place’ that emerged within participants’ talk, railways could be considered as ‘disruptive’. Participants drew upon interpretative repertoires of adaptation to convey railways as initially ‘disruptive’ and as something ‘you get used to’ over time. Participants positioned themselves as being immune to the ‘disruption’ in that they no longer noticed the railways presence. Living alongside railways was presented as ‘commonplace’, which enabled participants to manage their identities of place and justify their continued residence within the context of ‘disruption’. ‘Place’ and ‘identity’ offer a way to examine how people make sense of living in places of ‘disruption’. Future research on how people make sense of continued residence alongside railways, particularly the role of adaptational repertoires, could assist in policy development.